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NRA Press Conference: Blame Video Games and Movies, Not Guns

The NRA just wrapped up a long-awaited press conference to address the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook. The event was hyped as containing a major announcement for the organization which has come under fire for its agenda as the number and severity of mass shootings continues to rise in America.

So, what would the big announcement be? Would they finally be willing to admit that assault weapons aren’t necessary for hunting? That people don’t need extended magazines in rifles for personal protection?

Please, the answer is more guns, of course.

I’m writing about this here, in our little corner of the site, because in the speech, Wayne LaPierre, executive vice-president of the NRA, cited violent video games as a contributing factor in tragedies like these. ”Guns don’t kill people.” he said. “Video games, the media and Obama’s budget kill people.” He even called out a few by name:

“There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people, through vicious, violent video games with names like “Bulletstorm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Kombat,” and “Splatterhouse.”

No form of media was spared however, as he also mentioned “bloodsoaked” movies and even violent music videos as influencing young minds. Because we’re still enjoying the gangster rap of the ’90s, after all.

The message here was clear, blame everything but guns. Why bother considering that violent video games are played in all corners of the world, yet somehow it’s only the US with its lax gun laws where tragedies like this happen with this frequency? Video games are an easy target, almost as easy as the NRA itself which is doing everything it can to act like they’re the solution to the problem, not one of the primary causes.

The press conference went from standard stump speech to truly bizarre when the NRA’s big idea to help protect children in school turned out to be a national program to enlist an army of volunteers to patrol the corridors of high schools, junior high and elementary schools, keeping the kids safe from potential shooters. A direct quote from LaPierre: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

He is literally suggesting that retired police and military members patrol schools with guns. The program would be nationwide, and schools could opt out of it, but that would be up to the faculty and the parents. You know, those freedom-haters who who WANT their children to be at risk.

It’s the transformation of our country into a police state, pure and simple, or at least a very broad first step. So fine, you somehow manage to find enough competent, mentally stable people to guard every school in the country five days a week for eight hours a day. But shouldn’t we do the same for college campuses? That would require a lot more manpower. How about daycares? Malls? How about anywhere where more than ten people gather at a time? As much as it might sound like a good idea to them to assign Jack Bauer to police each and every one of our vulnerable institutions, in practice, it’s unworkable, bordering on insane.

It was hard to believe this was being presented as a serious suggestion. By the end you were half expecting LaPierre to start talking about arming teachers or going all the way and letting kindergartners conceal carry. You know, for protection.

Past the blame on video games, which is at worst, a minor annoyance, this entire press conference was a direct affront to the victims of this tragedy, and all others like it. The unwillingness to admit that easy access to guns is a huge factor in events like this is just astonishing. I can understand pushback against weapons bans which may not be terribly effective, but there’s no need to run the other direction and start saying they need to turn our schools into something resembling military bases or prisons.

What an astonishing speech that was. How this organization has such massive influence in our government, I have no idea.

But hey, blame the games, blame the movies. But who will we blame when our society turns into something resembling a country forcefully occupied by its own gun-wielding citizens?

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What reasonable parent believes that we should need to send our children to a school with armed guards instead of pulling high count clips and automatic weapons that have no use other than murder and other crimes outside of the military? If arming our schools is the only answer, it is time that we turn totally to home schooling!

Most of us reasonable people are already aware that automatic weapons have been stricly regulated (virtually unobtainable) since the National Firearms Act of 1934. No one is asking for automatic weapons to be legal. Please be aware of what is and is not currently legal before calling for a ban regarding a subject that you don’t seem to fully understand.

I think Cops should be on campus of every school in America. I would rather them be protecting my kids v.s. sitting in a car waiting for someone to roll past a stop sign. Catch speeders or be a threat to idiot kids that are thinking of doing harm to the masses. We do not need every patrol cop on the street all day every day. They can take turns protecting the schools. Protect and Serve. When I say serve, I don’t mean serve speeding tickets. I hate cops be cause most of the ones I have come across are arrogant Jerks, but they could be used for some actual good if they serve as a deterrent in the schools

Well, I’m a parent of four, consider myself reasonable and would gladly have a few well-trained and armed individuals in my children’s schools. You see, being reasonable and rational, and having experience with firearms in competition and otherwise, I do not fear guns in the proper hands with proper training.

Lynn, you need to stay home period. There are armed professionals protecting you and your kids at sporting events, large businesses, government buildings, commercial airlines, etc. It is irrational to not protect our kids in school.

I do. Because a policeman in a school is better than letting our children be vulnerable. What most imbeciles, like you, don’t understand is the following:

1) There are no automatic weapons that citizens can own legally. The only people with automatic weapons are the armed forces, criminals, and of course the Mexican drug cartels who were given all the automatic weapons they wanted by our loving president.

2) Semi-automatic weapons are not automatic weapons. You must pull the trigger once for each shot. That’s what this maniac used in the school, that’s what most legal gun owners have. Why? First of all, if the criminals are getting their hands on illegal automatic weapons, then you had better have a semi in order to have a fighting chance. If, by chance, this government violates human rights and the constitution obviously enough to illicit a citizens response, then we had better have semi’s because the soldiers and police will have automatics.

3) You can outlaw all the guns you want, criminals will still find a way to get them. Do you remember prohibition and the black market. This will be no different. So, in the end, you would simply be taking guns away from the responsible and law abiding owners.

4) A gun isn’t a magical technology given to us from God. It’s a man made weapon. If I so desired, then I could build one in my basement with a pipe and a few other materials from the local Home Depot. If I couldn’t get ammunition, then I could simply build a blunderbuss. Just imagine, the types of weapons some black market people could make who are far more talented that me and with the right equipment.

5) Even though people who don’t think for themselves and believe everything the media tells them, like you, continue to be in self-denial; studies, and even the US Govt’s own crime data shows that violent crimes and gun related crimes are practically non-existent in states that respect the 2nd amendment, and gun crime is highest in states with strict gun control.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II, a high quality, but violent game dealing with war, sold Half a Billion dollars worth of games in 1 day. 0 people got shot in the lines to get it. But 2 people were shot at a Wal Mart in Florida on Black Friday over a parking space dispute. Why no media calls to ban/curtail Black Friday? Parking Spaces? When media figures denounce games they make themselves to seem ignorant and out of touch. A 5 second Google search brings up a multitude of studies saying how violent games have much more stress and anger abating effects, than negative ones. They’ll have Gun supporters on to state their case, but when it comes to games, no such luck. I guess it interferes with the fear mongering and scapegoating.

Another ignorant editorial. Regular folks don’t have machine guns, so the capacity of machine gun magazines is immaterial. Also, the author ignores the glaring fact that these mass murderers purposely select “gun free” sites at which to inflict their mayhem.